Boy Troubles in Paradise
by mtndewcrew
Summary: I didn't like him. And it wasn't like I was jealous. I mean this guy had no chance with her. She was Annabeth Chase. Daughter of Athena. She'd saved the world like twenty times by now and who was this Son of Apollo to come waltzing in thinking he could just flirt with her and get anywhere with it?


**A/N: So real quick: this story is set in the Summer between The Titan's Curse and the Battle of the Labyrinth. Every that went down in BotL went down in the fall, and this is just a fic on what's been going on in between the two books. Annabeth never went back to San Francisco and has spent the whole year at camp. Ok. Enjoy~**

**Percy POV**

"Why don't you invite Annabeth to come visit?" My mom said with a hint of excitement.

I stopped for a moment to look around my very empty cabin. The only things in the cabin that my father hadn't put there himself were the suitcase on my bed and the Iris message floating outside my window.

"I thought Montauk was _our_ thing?" I protested.

"Well it is, but Percy, you and Annabeth have barely seen each other this year, and especially with the whole saving the world, holding up the sky thing... You kids could use a break."

I had to admit it sounded tempting. A week with Annabeth without having to train or anything, that was the kind of thing I kept having dreams about.

Which is exactly why I couldn't invite her. Our relationship was in a really weird stage right now, I just knew I was going to ruin it any day now.

"And Percy, I'm your Mom, you think I can't see right through you?"

"What do you mean?" Knowing my Mom, I knew exactly what she meant, but I wasn't about to say it.

"Don't you like this girl, Percy? She's _all_you ever talk-"

"Mom, I don't like her! Not like that!" I hushed her quickly and looked around to make sure no campers had been walking by unnoticed. I felt pretty guilty for snapping at her like that.

But mostly I just felt guilty because I was pretty sure I did like her. _Like that._

"If you say so, than fine. Bring her as a friend, than. If she's your best friend, maybe it's time I got to really meet her."

"You've met her before."

"It was a long time ago."

"It was a year ago."

"That's a long time, Percy!"

"Fine." I sighed. "I'll think about it. Whatever."

"Okay." My Mom smiled at me through the message. "I miss you already, you know."

"Yeah, miss you too, Mom."

We ended the message and I began to unpack my suit case.

I'd just finished the school year (barely) and with minimal monsters, arrived at camp this morning. The summer session hadn't quite begun yet, but counselors were instructed to come back early in order to get their cabin ready.

I slid the suitcase under the bed and looked around again.

"Gang's all here."

* * *

I stepped out from cabin three and waved at the satyrs as they chased a nymph around the rock bed. It felt good to be back at camp. I planned on spending the entire year here this time, and I had to admit it was pretty much the best place on earth, with the exception of Montauk. I was going to stay at home for the summer but, well things had changed. My Mom had met someone. Paul Blofis. Paul was an okay guy, not a God, but I figured he was good for my Mom. And after everything she went through with Gabe for me, I figured I could cut her some slack and get out of their hair for just this year.

As much as I loved my Mom, I was kind of glad I wasn't at home right now. She and Paul weren't married, but they sure were in the honeymoon phase. It was pretty sickening to be around. So yeah, camp was definitely the better alternative.

I heard the clanging of swords before I saw them, and reached into my pocket feeling for Riptide out of habit. I knew it would be there, but I still check every time I hear or see a weapon.

Walking in the direction of the sound of fighting, I finally saw the miniature battle between demigods in a clearing behind one of the cabins. Annabeth circled around the unfortunate soul who thought they could take her in a swordfight. She held her knife out in front of her, and I could see the way she was analyzing the moves she could make in the next moment. Her curly hair was a complete mess, probably partly from the wind, and partly from the fight. She whipped around and slashed her knife downwards but her opponent caught her before she could strike, and the sound of celestial bronze on bronze rung out.

I liked watching Annabeth fight. It was one of the few moments, except for maybe when she designed a structure, where she paid full attention to something and I could just watch her. She was in her element and I couldn't help but stare in a way that was maybe a little more than platonic.

"Alright, I give, Gustave. You win." I heard the opponent say before he took his helmet off and put his sword away.

_Gustave_?

"Don't I always win?" She quipped.

Before the guy could say anything in return, she saw me.

"Percy!" Annabeth sheathed her knife and came running at me. I found myself running to meet her halfway, and when we did, she pulled me into a big hug.

Wow, my Mom was right, I really had grown this year. I now stood a good three inches taller than her, a big improvement from the previous year. And maybe we were on an incline, but all I knew was that Annabeth had to stand on her toes to hook her chin over my shoulder. Our hugged lasted the tiniest bit too long and when we parted I could feel myself crossing a few more dangerously un-platonic lines in my mind.

"Hey." She said awkwardly, stepping back a few feet.

"Hey." I smiled at her and my eyes wandered to the streak of gray hair in the midst of her blonde—

"Hey." The guy she had been sparring with previously walked up to us and held out his hand to me.

Annabeth snapped out of our small staring contest. "Oh, uh Percy… meet Ian Clarke. Son of Apollo. Ian, this is Percy Jackson."

"Wow. _The_ Percy Jackson. I've heard a lot about you, man." Ian shook my hand.

"Yeah, uh can't the same for you, but I've met your Dad." I added.

"Oh yeah? Well that's more than I can say. Never met the guy myself, but I hear he's pretty dense."

"Well I wouldn't exactly call him a close relative of Athena." I saw Annabeth smile proudly at that. We usually didn't speak too highly of each other's parent's but whenever we did say something along those lines, it's almost like an inside joke.

But Annabeth didn't pay attention to me for long. Ian looked at her and smiled, "Apparently there's a lot of relatives of Athena we would never guess." I sensed there was some kind of private joke in that statement, especially by the way Annabeth smiled.

I didn't like him.

Ian was tall, and I mean really tall. He had to be at least 16. He was built just like Luke was, lean, but really muscular. He had brown hair that was just on the verge of unruly and he couldn't stop smiling at her.

I really didn't like him.

"So Wise Girl, you wanna go for a walk? Catch up a bit? I feel like I haven't talked to you in forever." I felt uncomfortable talking in front of Ian. I felt like I wasn't me. Like I was posturing. And maybe I was. After all, I was the best friend, not this guy.

"Sure." We took the path down to the water by my cabin, and left Ian behind to return to the armory.

"So how's camp been this year?" Annabeth had stayed behind this year, not wanting to return to San Francisco, so close to where she had been kept prisoner by Luke.

"It's been pretty slow, but I've gotten a lot of training done. There weren't many of us here until about a week ago, when some of the counselors started coming back. For the most part it was just Ian and I, and a few other year rounders. Thalia came to visit last month. You should have seen her with Ian, she hated him. They couldn't go five minutes without fighting. Personally, I think she was into him, but she just knew she wasn't allowed to be."

"Are you and Ian dating?" I spat out.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid! What the hell was wrong with me?!_

"_What_?" It looked like if she had been drinking water, she would have done a spit take.

"Sorry, I don't know, I just thought... He was...I mean just the way he was looking at you. Like, I don't know, the way a guy looks when he's into a girl. And he had a weird nickname for you..."

"Percy, we're not together, we're just friends. And for the record... You have a weird nickname for me too you know." Annabeth tossed her logic at me.

"Yeah but it makes sense. You're a girl, and you're wise. _Gustave_? What does that even mean?" I did my best to sound as nonchalant as I could but I didn't think it worked.

"It's kind of a long story. It was really funny though." Annabeth studied my totally not nonchalant expression. "Don't worry, Seaweed Brain. Still single."

Wait. '_Don't Worry_'? What's that supposed to mean?

Before I could ask Annabeth turned to me, "Why, you got a lady friend back home yet?"

"Me? No." I shoved my hands in my pockets. That had come out more pitiful than I intended. "Believe it or not," I recovered, "Having saved the world several times and all... Not the best pick-up line in the mortal world."

"Oh, because you're so suave in the demigod world?" Annabeth asked.

"I'll have you know I have my ways with the ladies, Ms. Chase." I crossed my arms and leaned up against a tree.

"Oh yeah? Try me." She motioned towards herself and smirked at me.

_I wish_. Here goes nothing.

"Alright." I cleared my throat and gave her my best bad boy smirk. "You know a guy once told me to go to hell. I'm back now."

"Hmm, not doin' it for me." She shrugged sarcastically.

"There's this thing called a prophecy, and I'm pretty much the main guy in it. The entire fate of the universe sorta falls on me pretty soon. I'm kind of a big deal around here."

"We both know the fate of the universe would go to Hades without me. Keep trying." She urged.

"Oh what was that? 'Do I even lift?' Baby, I held up the sky last year."

I noticed when Annabeth's face softened at the reminder of the burden only we could relate to. Her eyes flickered the streak of gray in my hair.

"Sorry, Seaweed Brain. You're not as suave as you think."

"Oh I am. You'll fall for my charms one day. It's inevitable, Wise Girl." I gulped as soon as I said the last word. I half expected her to slap me for crossing that particularly unplatonic line but she only smiled at me.

"Keep telling yourself that, Percy."

_Well, if you insist._

**So what do you guys think? Let me know if you want a Chapter 2 or not, my writing is 100% for you guys, so throw out some opinions :)**

**Btw, if you're someone who needs a visual every character in a story, the guy who I have in mind when I write Ian is Drew Roy. Look him up on IMDB if you like :)**


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